the first presidential debate four years ago. about 12 of the 67 that watched president obama square off against mitt romney on wednesday were in the ages of 18 to 34, nearly 31 million for 55 years or older. fox news channel averaged 10.4 million viewers that's an improvement over 8.24 years ago. cnn had about 6.1. about a million of your drop from the late. but still strong enough to beat msnbc's average of 4.7 million. this number of course does not include the numbers of people that watched on the internet or their mobile devices, and also c-span is not included in ratings to get there are basic numbers. 67 million people watching on television. next what's here on the role of government to trace of debate question is a call from carvin who is in hamilton montana. you are on. good morning, an independent. >> caller: yes, i think the government is here to help us do the intangible things we cannot do as individuals by ourselves, and i just want to say that the headlines down there in denver colorado where mitt romney winds i f